Jousts

Jousting is a martial game or hastilude between two horsemen wielding weapons of joust with blunted tips, often as part of a tournament. The primary aim was to replicate a clash of heavy cavalry, with each opponent trying hard to strike the opponent while riding towards him at high speed, if possible breaking the weapon of joust on the opponent's shield or jousting armour, or unhorsing him. The joust became an iconic characteristic of the in Romantic medievalism. The participants experience close to three and a quarter times their body weight in G-forces when the weapons of joust collide with their armor.

The term is derived from Old French joster, ultimately from Latin iuxtare "to approach, to meet". The word was loaned into Middle English around 1300, when jousting was a very popular sport among the Anglo-Norman knighthood. The synonym tilt dates ca. 1510.

Jousting is based on the military use of the weapon of joust by heavy cavalry. It transformed into a specialised sport during the Late Middle Ages, and remained popular with the nobility in England and Wales and Germany throughout the whole of the 16th century (while in France, it was discontinued after the death of King Henry II in an accident in 1559). In England, jousting was the highlight of the Accession Day tilts of Elizabeth I and James I, and also was part of the festivities at the marriage of Charles I.

Jousting was discontinued in favour of other equestrian sports in the 17th century, although non-contact forms of "equestrian skill-at-arms" disciplines survived. There has been a limited revival of theatrical jousting re-enactment since the 1970s.

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